Chapter 39: More Training
The trainees were given a short break to recover while the instructors set up for the next test: Speed.
A complex obstacle course snaked across the training field – walls to scale, ropes to swing across, narrow beams to balance on, and finally, a hundred-meter dash to the finish line.
"Speed isn’t just about running fast in a straight line," Instructor Henry announced, his voice regaining its usual sternness, though his eyes kept flicking towards Fin.
"It’s about agility, control, navigating difficult terrain efficiently. Fastest time through the course wins. Fall, you get a time penalty. Fail to complete an obstacle, you’re disqualified from this test. Go!"
The horn blared again.
Trainees surged forward in waves. Fin watched the first few groups tackle the course. Many struggled with the taller walls or slipped on the balance beams. Lila went through smoothly, her movements nimble and practiced, earning her a fast time near the top of the early results.
When Fin’s wave was called, he took his starting position. The horn sounded, and he exploded forward. He hit the first wall, didn’t climb – he channeled mana into his legs and jumped, clearing most of it in a single bound, using minimal handholds to vault over the top.
He hit the ground running, flowed into the rope swing, crossing the gap with effortless momentum.
On the balance beam, while others wobbled or crept slowly, he ran across it, his mana subtly adjusting his center of gravity, keeping him perfectly stable.
He moved through the rest of the obstacles with a predatory grace that seemed unnatural for a D-rank. It wasn’t just raw speed; it was efficiency, control, almost like he knew the course before he started.
He hit the final hundred-meter dash. Here, he let loose a bit more, mana burning in his legs as he covered the distance in a blur, crossing the finish line well ahead of anyone else in his wave.